The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-01-01


express ideas which these words were
not fitted to express in the Old Tesla
ment usage, they would never have
employed them, but would have chosen
others. The same ideas that are ex-
pressed by them, in connection with the
Mosaic dispensation, can be expressed
in relation to the Christian economy;
but not ideas that are very different !;
these must be expressed by other words,
and the New Testament writers did
not want for words to express all they
wished.
l will now notice some passages in
the New Testament, in which the
phrase before us is found. Jesus said
to the fig tree, ''Let no fruit grow on
thee forever"-unto the age. And in
the parallel passage, "Let no man eat
fruit of thee forever'-unto the age.
Paul said, 81 will eat no flesh forever
unto the age. To illustrate his SUBJ
ject, Jesus refers to the Mosaic law re-
latipg to servants, 1.-THE servant abid-
eth not in the family forever, but the
son abideth forever" A Hebrew SER
| want did not remain as servant in the
family of his master during life. The
relation between the servant and his
master, after few years, was dissolved.
But the son of the same master re-
manned son forever; that is, as long
as he lived. 1t is plain that unto the
age, in these passages, has no reference
to a distant age or dispensation. But
the expression was an established usage,
and was fitted to express one limited
period as well as another; the subject
and the context showing clearly what
period was intended. In the passages
above, it is during life, or until death.
The fig tree is not an exception, and the
time was very short, for the next morn
ing it was ''dried up by the ROOTS" that
is, was dead.
The corresponding words in the Old
Testament are used in the same way.
The servants obtained from the heather
served their Hebrew masters forever, or
as long as they lived. The priests served
at the altar forever, no longer certainly
than they lived. These examples are
referred to for the use we propose to
make Of them, to illustrate other pas
sages having the same phrase. The
evangelist Mark makes Jesus to say,
that those who sinned against the Holy
Spirit, had never forgiveness, Literally
had not forgiveness forever), but were
guilty of an aionian sin. From the
light thrown on this passage by the
others above noticed, conclude the
meaning is that those men would not
be forgiven as long as they lived, but
were guilty of a lifelong sin. To be
sure, the sin is called everlasting; but
we have seen that this term means no
more than forever and this latter
term means only during life.
With this view of the passage, it does
not follow that those blasphemers were
punished only during life. 1t follows
simply that their condition is not de-
scribed further than till death. 1t may
be thought that this construction is set
aside by the passage in Matthew, where
this sin is said not to be forgiven in
that age nor the age to come. Rightly
understood, there is no conflict between
the two passages. Mark gives the indi-
vidual experience of those who are
guilty of this sin, and Matthew defines
the time that men would Gin and suffer
in this way. The language implies the
coming of time when this sin will not
exist, and consequently will not require
forgiveness. The two passages proba-
bly, belong to different occasions, and
are not strictly parallel.
There is another class of passages
that contain the expression now under
discussion, on which some light may be
thrown. Jesus says of the true believer,
that he shall never die-shall never see
death, etc. In such cases he generally
employs two negative particles, equiv
alent to not, not, an expedient for CIV
ing emphasis to the assertion but the
emphasis is not properly expressed by
the word neUer, which is an adverb of
time; and the time believers should
not die, is not the point on which Jesus
intended to place the emphasis. "By
no MEANS" is better rendering. The
additional expression, unto the age,
gives the time, namely, during the
earthly life. Nomore could be intended,
if it is true, that faith relates to "things
not SEEM" for on entering the immOr-
tai life, we shall see the things which
are now the objects of faith.
When it is said of the believer, "He
shall by no means see DEATH" under
stand the reference to be to moral death.
Faith protects us from sin, and so pro-
tects us from the death consequent on
sin and this is moral death. But the
opinion is held by some, that Jesus re-
fers to natural death, and means to say
that the believer will never die such a
death, that to such one, death loses
its distinctive character. There is some
ground for this opinion for in the con-